"the hybrid production style proves an atmospheric and eerie delight" and commended Cudi for his unconventional musical approach, writing in conclusion, "Pursuing genius at the expense of consistency might work out just fine for Cudi: I'm not convinced that he's a good rapper, but I'm pretty sure he's an important one." Mark Beaumont of NME called it "a grungy, filthy record full of angels and demons." Pitchforks Jayson Greene called Man on the Moon II "a bumpy listen", but found it "more fully realized" than Cudi's debut album. In a mixed review, Michaelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club found Cudi's delivery insouciant and the music merely "listenable", without "much grasp of any of the styles or modes he tries out." Dave Heaton of PopMatters viewed that its "subject matter" is not "delved into as creatively as on the debut album" and stated "Sometimes [Cudi] seems to be falling into the typical trap of sequels: replicating instead of moving forward." Rolling Stones Jonah Weiner commended its "dramatic, breathtakingly stark production", but ultimately panned Cudi's performance and stated "he's grown rote in his self-pity and flat as a singer." Jon Pareles of The New York Times viewed that Cudi's rapping "wander[s] away while the track continues without him" and stated "In its utter self-absorption, the album teeters between fascinating and numbing." Nitsuh Abebe of New York called it "a weary and sometimes beautiful catalogue of trying times and overindulgence [...] a melodic take on hip-hop that feels woozy and genuinely passionate, inviting you as deeply into his head as the lyrics. [...] But vulnerability loses its power when it's calculated to sound dramatic and masculine." Accolades According to the site Album of the Year, Man on the Moon II was thirtieth-highest-rank album in the year-end lists by music critics, based on 16 lists. Complex ranked the album fourth, and it was ranked sixth by Rap Radar, it was ranked ninth by Spin, and it was voted seventh best hip-hop album by Pitchforks Reader Poll. On December 23, 2010, Complex would place "Wild'n Cuz I'm Young" at number 25 on the 25 best songs of 2010 list. Two years later, they would rank the album in the list of "25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status". Commercial performance Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with first-week